WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Shares Sold by Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. decreased its position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 774 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in WestRock by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WestRock by 136.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Kwmg LLC grew its stake in WestRock by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 135,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in WestRock by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Performance

WRK traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $47.98. 1,700,770 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,959. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.54. WestRock has a twelve month low of $26.85 and a twelve month high of $49.67. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is -18.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WRK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WestRock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Company Profile

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.